Bottom lines

The secret plan to raise the price of bread and gas. "There are no price hikes. It's humans who have become cheaper. That's why they think prices have increased, Amr Okasha in the Egyptian opposition daily Al-Wafd The US-led war against Iraq, now in its third year, has made efforts to bring democracy to the fore in Iraq exhausting. Amgad Rasmi in the Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat

"Three years ago the US and the UK launched their war... as part of a most barbarian assault that targeted innocent children, women and men whose only fault is that they are Iraqis and Muslims." -- Ismail Montasser, October

"The Arab League is a very fragile body that is always twisted around by the will of Arab governments who just wish to issue a few administrative resolutions." -- Bahieddin Hussein, Al-Masry Al-Yum

"An Arab citizen must feel perplexed over which problem to worry about more. With so much misfortune across the Arab world, one must feel frustrated, disturbed and not sure what to lament most." -- Mohamed Abdel-Moneim, Al-Akhbar

"It looks as if the US has no coherent policy towards Iran -- only bluster." -- Patrick Seale, Al-Hayat

"Politicians who seem unable to solve their problems insist on presenting him [Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani] as a player in the political arena. That is bad for Iraq and dangerous for Shiism as a religious faith." -- Amir Taheri, Asharq Al-Awsat

"The Iraqis who were freed from one of the worst dictatorships in the world found themselves under a new political leadership that was not up to the historical transformation which their country witnessed." -- Al-Watan